سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْفَالِ

Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 44

The Spoils of War · Medinan · Juz 10 · Page 182

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وَإِذْ يُرِيكُمُوهُمْ إِذِ ٱلْتَقَيْتُمْ فِىٓ أَعْيُنِكُمْ قَلِيلًا وَيُقَلِّلُكُمْ فِىٓ أَعْيُنِهِمْ لِيَقْضِىَ ٱللَّهُ أَمْرًا كَانَ مَفْعُولًا ۗ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ تُرْجَعُ ٱلْأُمُورُ ﴿44﴾

Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali

And (remember) when you met (the army of the disbelievers on the Day of the battle of Badr), He showed them to you as few in your eyes and He made you appear as few in their eyes, so that Allâh might accomplish a matter already ordained (in His Knowledge), and to Allâh return all matters (for decision).

Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning

وَإِذْ wa-idh And when
يُرِيكُمُوهُمْ yurīkumūhum He showed them to you
إِذِ idhi when
ٱلْتَقَيْتُمْ l-taqaytum you met
فِىٓ fī in
أَعْيُنِكُمْ aʿyunikum your eyes
قَلِيلًۭا qalīlan (as) few
وَيُقَلِّلُكُمْ wayuqallilukum and He made you (appear) as few
فِىٓ fī in
أَعْيُنِهِمْ aʿyunihim their eyes
لِيَقْضِىَ liyaqḍiya that might accomplish
ٱللَّهُ l-lahu Allah might accomplish
أَمْرًۭا amran a matter
كَانَ kāna (that) was
مَفْعُولًۭا ۗ mafʿūlan (already) destined
وَإِلَى wa-ilā And to
ٱللَّهِ l-lahi Allah
تُرْجَعُ tur'jaʿu return
ٱلْأُمُورُ l-umūru (all) the matters

Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi

Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.

(Ayah 44) ➊ The first incident in {وَ اِذْ يُرِيْكُمُوْهُمْ اِذِ الْتَقَيْتُمْ فِيْۤ اَعْيُنِكُمْ قَلِيْلًا …:} was the dream of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is an incident from the battlefield itself, when the battle was about to take place but had not yet started. The disbelievers appeared few in number to the Muslims, to the extent that some asked others, "In your opinion, how many are they?" He replied, "About seventy (70)." This confirmed the dream of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and also served to boost the morale of the Muslims. The wisdom in making the Muslims appear few in the eyes of the disbelievers was so that they would not consider it necessary to make greater preparations and would not avoid the battle, but rather both parties, considering the other to be few, would be ready to fight. This was at the beginning, but when the battle started, the disbelievers began to see the Muslims as more numerous, as mentioned in Al-Imran: «وَ اُخْرٰى كَافِرَةٌ يَّرَوْنَهُمْ مِّثْلَيْهِمْ رَاْيَ الْعَيْنِ» [ آل عمران : ۱۳ ] "And the other group was the disbelievers, who saw them (the Muslims) with their own eyes as twice their number." The benefit of this was that the battle began, and then, once it started, the morale of the disbelievers fell, and they soon turned and fled in defeat, while the morale of the Muslims continued to rise.
➋ { لِيَقْضِيَ اللّٰهُ اَمْرًا كَانَ مَفْعُوْلًا:} That is, that very matter: the victory of Islam and the defeat of disbelief, and a miraculous proof is established for the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
➌ { وَ اِلَى اللّٰهِ تُرْجَعُ الْاُمُوْرُ:} That is, He decides whatever He wills, and then, when the real authority in everything belongs to Allah Almighty, the Muslim should make Him alone his objective.

Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf

Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.

44. 1 So that the disbelievers would not retreat out of fear of you, the first incident was of the dream, and this showing was at the very time of fighting, as is clear from the words of the Quran. However, this matter was at the beginning, but when the actual battle started, then the disbelievers saw the Muslims as twice their own number, as is known from Surah Al-Imran, verse 13. The wisdom behind showing them as more later seems to be that seeing the multitude, fear and terror of the Muslims would settle in their hearts, causing cowardice and low morale within them. In contrast, the wisdom in showing them as fewer at first was so that they would not avoid fighting.
44. 2 The purpose of all this was so that the decision Allah had made would be fulfilled. Therefore, He created the means for it.

Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani

Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.

44. And (remember) when you met (the enemy), Allah made them appear few in your eyes, and made you appear few in their eyes, so that Allah might accomplish a matter already destined [49]. And to Allah all matters are returned.

[49]
The Formation of Rows by the Prophet ﷺ in the Shape of a Hollow Square:

That is, you Muslims were perceiving the number of disbelievers as slightly less than their actual number, and the enemy thought that the Muslims were much fewer than themselves. In this way, the morale of both sides was raised and they became ready to fight. Thus, the causes for what was destined in the Divine Will continued to be created, and it ultimately came to pass. Here, it seems necessary to clarify that this refers to the time when both armies had not yet lined up, and when they did line up, at that time the disbelievers began to see the Muslims as double their actual number, as is mentioned in Surah Aal-e-Imran: ﴿يَّرَوْنَهُمْ مِّثْلَيْهِمْ رَاْيَ الْعَيْنِ﴾. And this was a very skillful military strategy of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he arranged the ranks of the Companions in the form of a hollow square, due to which the disbelievers actually saw the Muslims as double their number, and thus it was inevitable that their morale would be diminished. And some scholars say that this refers to the time when the angels descended in the Battle of Badr. In my opinion, this interpretation is not correct because even most Muslims could not see the angels; how could the disbelievers see them?
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